HOW WIOA CAN SUPPORT

WORKERS FACING

ECONOMIC CHALLENGES

April 29, 2020

The LEAD Center is led by Social Policy Research Associates and National

Disability Institute and is funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy,

U.S. Department of Labor, Contract No. #GS-10F-0281S

CAPTIONING AND HOUSEKEEPING

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WELCOME

Jennifer Sheehy

Deputy Assistant Secretary,

Office of Disability

Employment Policy

(ODEP),

U.S. Department of Labor

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WEBINAR OBJECTIVES

Learn about allowable WIOA financial literacy

education activities

Learn from other workforce professionals about

activities delivered through AJCs in Michigan

and New York

Gain resources to adopt and replicate these

practices

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SPEAKERS

Donny Herber

Special Initiatives

Manager - Youth

Opportunities Unlimited

Alan Sessions

Disability Resource

Coordinator -

CDO Workforce

Kathy DeAngelo

Disability Resource

Coordinator -

CDO Workforce

Elizabeth Jennings

(moderator)

Acting Executive Director—

National Disability Institute

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WIOA FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) supports the provision of

financial literacy education activities.

For Youth:

Financial literacy education is one of 14 mandated services that must be

available to youth participants.

For Adults:

Financial literacy education activities can be provided to adults when

determined appropriate to meet the goals and objectives of the job seeker’s

individual employment plan.

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ALLOWABLE FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

Nine financial literacy education activities support

participants:

1. Budgeting, checking and savings accounts,

and financial decision-making;

2. Management of spending, credit, and debt;

3. Understanding and improving or maintaining

good credit reports and credit scores;

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ALLOWABLE FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION ACTIVITIES - II

4. Understanding financial products,

services, and opportunities to make

informed decisions;

5. Protecting oneself from identity theft and

protecting personal identity and financial

data;

6. Providing multilingual financial literacy

and education materials;

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ALLOWABLE FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION ACTIVITIES - III

7. Benefits planning and work incentives

counseling for youth with disabilities;

8. Age-appropriate and timely financial

education with opportunities to put

lessons into practice; and

9. Supporting participants to make

informed financial decisions that

enable them to attain greater financial

health and stability

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IMPORTANCE OF WIOA DURING COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people are experiencing

unemployment and financial instability.

WIOA financial literacy education activities offer a set of services that can

support individuals as they make difficult financial decisions and use new

income to improve their financial stability.

Explore our recent webinar on Financial Strategies for Workers with

Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic at

http://www.leadcenter.org/webinars/archived

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Financial Literacy

Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA)/Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU)

Michigan Works! Southwest

YOU’s Introduction to Financial Literacy

• Build relationships before building budgets

• Cultural and social awareness

• Acknowledge the sensitive nature of money talks

• Community resources

YOU’s Implementation of Financial Literacy

• Group Presentations

• Internal staff

• Community partners

• Individual conversations with Career Coaches

• Meet them where they are

• Budgeting

• Wants vs. needs

• Planning for the unexpected

YOU’s Follow Up of Financial Literacy

• Check In with Participants

• What’s working

• What’s not working

• What unexpected things came up

• Give space when needed

• Continue to support/encourage

FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION ACTIVITIES

Chenango-Delaware-Otsego Workforce

New York

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CDO WORKFORCE: BI-MONTHLY FINANCIAL LITERACY WORKSHOPS

At these events, we discuss:

Goals of empowering individuals with

disabilities with accurate information to

make informed decisions to support their

life goals;

CDO services and activities; and

Achieving a Better Life Experience

(ABLE) accounts, including eligibility

information and how to use the ABLE

National Resource Center website

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FINANCIAL EDUCATION: CREDIT MANAGEMENT

90 minute interactive presentation by a local Credit

Union for 12 participants.

Focused on differences between debit and credit

cards, credit scores, and grants vs. loans

Used games and online activities to engage

participants

Results included a couple of youth becoming

"banked" as well as exploring/opening ABLE

accounts

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FINANCIAL EDUCATION: LITERACY WORKSHOPS

HempsteadWorks collaborated with the following organizations to present Financial Literacy workshops to youth:

New York Community Bank

Financial Revolution

Bethpage Federal Credit Union

Empower, Assist, and Care (EAC) and Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) staff

Tompkins Co. DRC partnered with Business Leaders of Color to offer workshops like "Youth Entrepreneurship" and "Manage Your Money" as well as offering virtual Working in Support of Education (WISE) webinars promoting financial literacy, business and social entrepreneurship.

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PARTNERSHIPS: OTSEGO & DELAWARE COUNTY CASH

COALITIONCollaboration across local agencies, banking institutions and other partners to help community members achieve financial stability

Established under DEI Round 1 project and led by our local United Way agency

Developed the partnership between State University of New York (SUNY) Oneonta and the CASH Coalition to recruit student volunteers and train them to establish a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site in Otsego County

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PARTNERSHIPS: PROMOTING FINANCIAL RESILIENCY

Currently strategizing about how to

establish Individual Development Accounts

(IDAs) with our local financial institutions.

Collaborate with the Otsego County

Chamber of Commerce to convene a

meeting with local financial institutions to

plan and develop local IDAs and matching

savings funds

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CERTIFIED WORK INCENTIVE PRACTITIONERS

All DRC's in CDO, Hempstead, and

Tompkins are certified to provide benefits

counseling to SSDI and SSI beneficiaries

when they return to the workforce.

We track income, help report earned income

to SSA, set up MySSA accounts with

customers, help file appeals and waivers

and write Plan to Achieve Self-Support

(PASS) plans

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PROMOTION OF ABLE ACCOUNTS

Promote ABLE accounts on all forms of CDO

social media, in our newsletter, and including

information at many local workshops and

community presentations.

Provide handouts on ABLE accounts and

contact sheets at all local job fairs.

ABLE National Resource Center:

https://www.ablenrc.org/

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Alan SessionsDisability Resource Coordinator

CDO Workforce, 12 Dietz St., Oneonta, NY 13820

Email: cdoworkforce@gmail.com

Kathy DeAngeloDisability Resource Coordinator

CDO Workforce, 12 Dietz St., Oneonta, NY 13820

Email: deangelok@otsegocounty.com

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it.

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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

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JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT TWO-PART WEBINAR SERIES

Ensuring Equal Opportunity in the Workforce Development System during

COVID-19

Part One: Thursday, May 14, 2020

3pm ET – 4pm ET

Part Two: Thursday, May 21, 2020

3pm ET – 4pm ET

Join us for a two-part webinar series that will provide information, strategies and

resources on Section 188’s equal opportunity and non-discrimination practices.

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THANK YOU!!

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